Polish - Absolute Beginner Questions. Study plan.

Not to nitpick, but "bluzka" means "sweatshirt", and "blouse" means "koszula damska z guzikami". A false friend.

Another one is "dres". When I first got to Poland, some of my students told me to be careful of men who are wearing dresses, because they will beat me up. I thought it was weird that Poland was being terrorized by gangs of aggressive transvestites.

Not to rain on your parade. You meant to say "women sweatshirt". No, "bluzka" means "blouse". There is often a very small difference between "koszula damska" and "blzuka" in everyday use of the Polish language. Origin of the word is the same in both languages - French.

@Ironside

Sorry, but not quite. Bluzka also means a men's sweatshirt, and doesn't resemble what is called a usually called a blouse in English at all. Both derive from French, in which it meant a men;s or women's loose fitting peasant shirt, but the English word changed to mean primarily a women's dress shirt. The English word is changing again to mean just about any kind of informal women's top. It's a false friend.

As is German "Bluson"! Far from a "blouse", instead it's a type of outerwear, something between a jacket and an overcoat, worn by both men and women:-)

The Polish word for "Bluson" would be "kurtka". In English, it would be called a coat, jacket, sweatshirt or hoodie, depending on the type.

So interesting how meanings change for nearly like-sounding words in other languages:-)
"Kapelusz" for example, must derive from "chapeau".

@Lyzko

My favorites are "eventually" and "actually", which English borrowed from French long before German or Polish did. They mean nothing at all like their German or Polish cognates.

And angina, which means chest pain in English and a sore throat in Polish.

Scores of my German ESL'ers will often (stereo-)typically repeat, "I eventually think we solve our problems, though my facts are not actual." etc..

Distinguishing false from true friends appears to be a lifetime effort:-)

Poles too will say: "I didn't could found the word in my dictionary." etc.. Transference/interference errors are among the most common for foreign language learners!

@DominicB
"Bluzka also means a men's sweatshirt"
I'm sorry but you're mistaken. You must have "bluza" in mind, not quite the same thing as "bluzka".
"The English word is changing again to mean just about any kind of informal women's top."
That is exactly what "bluzka" means in Polish.

Would for instance "sukienka" be translated as "dress" or "blouse" or neither of the above?

"Sukienka" would be translated as a dress - never "blouse".

Agreed. A blouse refers to only top wear.

Always good to know, thank you.

Never say "Ja cię szukam" to a Czech!

Nor tell him that his Pilsner's "stały" and that his home has a pleasant "zapach":-))))!!!

You'll quickly find you've overstayed your welcome by several minutes and countingLOL